Flow transcends Pain in Saudi Arabia

A few weeks back, I spoke to a group of C Level executives for MILE.org. It was a fascinating experience on many levels, none more so than the fact I could barely walk the morning of the conference.

When I arrived at the auditorium I asked the organisers was it possible to do some exercises on the floor to see the problem could be resolved. Unfortunately the pain was intensifying moment by moment – the only parallel I could draw was that it felt like I was being knifed in my calves such was the pain.

After a few moments the chief organiser approached. Looking at me on the ground he reassured me that my health was the only priority. Respectfully I assured him that he didn’t need to worry as flow would kick in when I started to speak, and my back issues would disappear! I amn’t sure that he was convinced as he surveyed the scene.

One of his team rushed to the pharmacy to get me some pain relief, but nothing was working. Ten minutes before my one day course started; I lifted myself from the floor. sat on a chair and after some experimentation found one position where the pain was bearable. I sat in this posture for the day at the top of the room.

You can check the outcome on the graphic – suffice to say that flow did indeed kick in, and I was able to transcend the pain. To have received top speaker accolade in such circumstances over many esteemed speakers from Harvard Business School, Insead, Cranfield etc shows the power of pursuing your passion and living on purpose. You will always find an abundance of motivation and execution if you are in the zone.

So the choice is simple – choose a job you love and experience flow as you execute; or at worse if you don’t love what you do, commit to working each day as if you were auditioning for your dream job.